Meet Foster Carer Dana
After supporting a young person through her work in foster care, Dana saw firsthand the need for carers and decided to open her own home to children and young people.
How OzChild’s MST Program is Addressing Youth Crime in Victoria
As Victoria continues to address concerns about youth justice, programs like OzChild’s Multisystemic Therapy (MST) are proving to be crucial in providing long-term, sustainable solutions that prevent reoffending and help young people build brighter futures.
The program addresses environmental systems that impact chronic and repeat juvenile offenders – their homes and families, schools and teachers, neighbourhood’s and friends. By focusing on family involvement, improving mental health, reducing substance abuse, fostering positive peer relationships, and increasing engagement in education and employment, MST is effectively diverting young people away from the youth justice system.
In 2023-24 OzChild’s Victorian MST team received 42 new referrals to the program, with 10 carried over from the previous period. Of these participants:
- 86.36% showed improvement in behaviour and mental health by the end of treatment
- 89.47% reduced existing use of substance issues or prevented the development of substance issues
- 84.21% had improved changes in their peer associations (increased new/prior prosocial peer associations or spending less time with problem peers)
- 84.21% were enrolled in a learning program, with attendance improving for 78.95% of youth by program closure
- 78.94% had no further arrests a month following program closure, with 36.84% having no further offences at any time during treatment.
Importantly, 100% of families reported improved family functioning, with all young people remaining in the care of their families following the program, rather than being placed in kinship, foster or residential care.
This evidence-based, intensive family and community-based treatment program is breaking the cycle of disadvantage many juvenile offenders experience, and changing the life trajectory of young people, their families and communities.
To learn more about OzChild’s MST Program, visit https://www.ozchild.org.au/service/multisystemic-therapy-mst/
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Aboriginal & Torres Strait Islander Children’s Day: Living Our Truth | 4 August 2026
The 2026 National Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander Children’s Day theme is Living Our Truth, honouring the power of truth-telling, the sharing of knowledge across generations and the importance of telling our stories.
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